Who doesn’t love a fabulous pair of legs? Doing squats is great but it is not your only option for getting some sexy gams. I’ve put together a leg workout that you can do anywhere and anytime. The key is to target all the individual muscle groups that make up your leg and that is exactly what this Legs For Days workout will cover.
Let’s get started.
LUNGES
Lunges are an easy and efficient exercise to help build strength in your quadriceps, glutes, hamstrings, calves, and core.
Keep your back upright and step forward until your knee is about an inch from the floor. Make sure your knee is at a 90-degree angle to the floor and stare straight ahead, choosing a focal point to maintain balance and then push yourself up.
You can do your lunges stationary or walking.
To add some variation to your lunges, you can use a weighted bar, dumbells or even just use your natural body weight.
Lunges are really great because they help you improve your balance and flexibility.
CURTSY LUNGE AND SQUAT
The curtsy lunge and squat is a 2 for 1 exercise that works the outermost part of your quad and also the glute area.
To begin, start off in a lunge by standing tall and crossing one foot in front of your body, bending the knees. When you do this, your feet should be far enough away from each other so you can bend the back knee at 90 degrees. Give yourself plenty of space! The crossover should bring your front knee in front of the opposite hip.
Next, step out to the side into a squat position, make sure your feet are much wider than your shoulders. Then hold.
To finish the movement, cross the other leg in front of your body to perform a curtsy lunge on the other side.
For a bigger challenge, skip standing up as you transition — keep the knees bent and stay low to hold onto the burn! This is really where you will get the benefit.
LATERAL LUNGE
One of the main benefits of lateral lunges is that they work almost all of the muscles in your lower body. The exercise targets the quads, hamstrings, glutes, calves and inner thigh area.
The difference between a front lunge and a lateral lunge is that you lunge toward the side rather than forward.
Start standing straight up with your feet shoulder-width apart, arms down at your sides.
Take a big step to one side, lunging down and putting most of your weight on your leading leg.
Lower yourself down until the thigh of your trailing leg is nearly parallel to the floor, and always keep your toes pointing forward during the exercise.
Return to your starting position, then repeat on the other leg.
DEADLIFT
When deadlifting, I like to keep it basic. I use the standard form of a deadlift but concentrate on my range of motion instead of going heavy with my weights. This lowers my risk of injury. Remember, form is critical in this move. If done correctly, the deadlift is an excellent, compound exercise that targets the quads, hamstrings, glutes, lower back, and forearms. That’s a lot of bang for one exercise!
To begin your feet should be shoulder width apart, your toes are pointing forward or slightly outward. Once you are comfortable in the position, slowly hinge at the hips keeping a slight bend in your knees. Keep your head parallel and lean forward. Make sure to take advantage of the stretch in your hamstrings.
On your way up squeeze your glutes at the top of the movement.